Friday, September 21, 2012

Guest Post & Giveaway: Top 3 YA Love Triangles by Adrienne Clarke

Today we have a guest post and giveaway from Adrienne Clarke, author of To Dance in Liradon! Read on to find out Adrienne's Top 3 Fictional Love Triangles and be sure to scroll to the bottom to enter the giveaway to win a copy of her book To Dance in Liradon! Here's a synopsis:

“Seventeen-year old Brigid O'Flynn is an outcast. A chance encounter with the Faerie Queen left her tainted in the eyes of the villagers, who blame the Faerie for the village’s missing women and children. Desperate to win the village’s acceptance Brigid agrees to marry her childhood friend: Serious, hardworking, Connell Mackenna. But when Connell disappears before their wedding Brigid's hopes are shattered. Blamed for her fiancé’s death, Brigid fears she will suffer the same fate as the other village outcasts, the mysterious Willow Women. Lured into Liradon by their inhuman lovers, and cast out weak and broken, the Willow Women spend their lives searching for the way back into Faerie. When Connell suddenly reappears Brigid is overjoyed, but everything is not as it seems. Consumed by his desire for beauty and celebration, Connell abandons his responsibilities, and Brigid soon finds herself drawn into a passionate, dangerous world of two.

When Brigid discovers the truth behind Connell's transformation she’s forced to choose between two men and two worlds. Brigid’s struggle leads her into glittering, ruthless Liradon where she must rescue her true love from a terrible sacrifice or lose him forever.”

My Top Three Favourite YA Love Triangles by Adrienne Clarke:

Writing about the top three YA love triangles is a daunting task. Readers are passionate about their favorites so how could I possibly choose three without getting hate mail? But I'm a risk taking girl, and besides, how could I give up a chance to talk about three of my favorite books.Be warned, my choices are not necessarily the most popular or well known, big hint, my list doesn't include vampires, or games. But what more could I possibly say about those books you don't already know? My hope is that I might spark your interest in a book you may not have read. Sneaky, I know, but give me a chance. Maybe, just maybe, you'll discover your next great read.If you find my choices odd, obscure, or just plain wrong, let me know, I can take it, I think.My top three love triangles in no particular order.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Okay, I know, you've probably heard about this one, but just in case you've written it off because it was written over one-hundred and fifty years ago, I'm going to tell you that this story endures for a reason. It's passionate, darkly romantic, and spoiler alert, doesn't end well. Torn between the socially acceptable Edgar Linton, and brooding, volatile Heathcliff, Catharine marries for money instead of love, a sacrifice that proves impossible for her to live with. This book deserves to be read if only for Heathcliff's unforgettable plea to Catharine: “… may you not rest as long as I am living! You said I killed you--haunt me, then! ...Be with me always--take any form--drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!”

Poor Edgar, he never really had a chance.

Lady Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt. A beautiful, haunting novel set in medieval England just before The Great Plague. The beautiful Keturah must choose between the handsome young lord of the manor and...Death. What possible attractions could Death have for a young woman with her whole life before her? Read this novel and find out. The ending is one of the most surprising and moving I've ever read. I loved this book so much I named my daughter after Keturah. See, I'm not fooling around vampire fans. I really love this book.

Picture the Dead by Lisa Brown and Adele Griffin is a gorgeously illustrated graphic novel full of secrets, murder, betrayal and love. The love triangle between Jenny and two handsome, but very different brothers is complicated by the fact that one of them is dead. Ghost photography, spirit mediums, and painful aftermath of World War I are at the centre of this uniquely beautiful gothic novel.

There, I'm done. It wasn't so bad was it? I don't hear any angry shouts or wails of dismay. If, after some reflection you decide my choices aren't so misguided, maybe you'll trust me enough to check out another YA novel with a love triangle, mine! To Dance in Liradon, by me. I hope you like it.